Wagon-platform.



No. 655,947. Patented Aug. |4, |900.

c. ARNOLD. WAGON PLATFORM.

l (Application filed Feb. 26, 1900.) (No Modell) ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT rnrcn.

CHRISTIAN ARNOLD, OF PATERSON, NEW' JERSEY.

WAGON-PLATFORM.'

SPECIFCATION forming part of 'Letters Patent No. 655,947, dated August 14, 1900. l Application filed February 26, 1900. Serial No. 6,524. (No model.) l

To cal zul/1,0m t may cmi/cern..-

Be it known that I, CHRISTIAN ARNoLma citizen of the United States,residingin Paterson, in the county of Passaic and State of New Jersey, have invented certainvnew and useful Improvementsin Wagon-Platforms; and I do hereby declare the following to be a fnll, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadv to the accompanying drawings, and to letters ofrreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My-invention relates to platform-vehicles; and it has reference particularly to that portion of the structurevof such vehicles'known as the cradle or front platform gearing.

Though my invention may be applied to light wagons or carriages, it is particularly de.- signed for use in connection with trucks and other similar heavy vehicles, the principal objects being to provide a cradle or platformgearing of great strength and durability without, however, engendering an increase of weight out of proportion or inconsistent with the character of the work which in the adap-v tation for which I have particularly constructed my cradle or platform-gearing it is intended to perform.

In order to carry out the above-mentioned objects of invention,-I propose to construct the entire structure of the platform-gearing or cradle of metal, preferably steel, using as few part-s as possible and arranging and securing them together in a manner best conducive to the fulfilment of those objects.

The invention consists in the improved cradle or platform-gearing and in the combination and arrangement ofthe various parts thereof, substantially as will be hereinafter pointed out,and nally embodied in the claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which I have fully illustrated my invention, Figure 1 is a perspective view of said platform-gearing or cradle. Fig. 2 is atop plan view of a portion of said platform-gearing or cradle. Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of the front portion of said platformgearing or cradle; and Figs. 4 and 5 show a detail of the invention, Fig. 4 being a top plan view thereof and Fig. 5 being a sectional View on the line x in Fig. 4.

n Should be remarked that the futchells,'

and hounds are composed of channeledor U-shaped metal, as best seen in Fig. 1, the channeled sides of the said fntchells being turned inwardly, while those of the hounds are turned outwardly. By disposing the futchells and hounds as just stated the sides of the cradle present a finished appearance, 5 -Y while perfectly plane and unbroken surfaces are presented in the tongue-hounds tothe tongue, so that there is no possibility of un# duly abrading the sides of the latter.

d designates a'fllling-block interposed bea tween the tongue-hounds approximately at A their central-portions.

f e denotes a cross-bar disposed at the rear. end of the platform-gearing or cradle.

this crossbar the rear ends of the futchells 'and hounds are securedv by bolts or rivets f.

g designates the splinter-bar at the front end of the cradle. Said splinter-bar comprises two parts, the one of which consists of a straight bar 7L and the other of which consists of an angle-bar fi, riveted or bolted together .at theirl ends and the former being .disposed beneath the crotch-piece and the other being arched over said crotch-piece. The ends of the futchells d a' are provided with ontwardlyextending arms or projections j, formed by extending the base-wall of the bar constituting each futchell beyond the body thereof and turning it off at right angles. This arm or projection in the case of each futchell is riveted or boltedto the vertical wall of the angle-bar t', which wall, it is to be remarked, is disposed along the rear edge of said bar. 7c is another cross-bar which extends across the tops of the hounds and futchells, said cross-bar and the iilling-block CZ being provided with a vertical hole Z for the IOO king-pin of the vehicle. Upon the cross-bar rests the under member m of the fifth-wheel, its forward and rear portions being sustained by filling-plates n, rest-ing on the hounds. Bolts or rivets f secure the part on, to the hounds and also to the futchells, said bolts or rivets extending through the filling-plates and the ends of the cross-bar 7;.

o represents short braces which project at one end between the tops of the futchells and the part m and which extend at their other ends beneath the cross-bar 7c, being riveted or bolted in position to these parts.

p represents cross-plates disposed above and' l below the front extremities of the hounds and through which and said hounds rivets or bolts f pass for securing said cross-plates in position. It will be seen that these cross-plates complete the structure of the crotch-piece. q is a bolt suspended from the lower crossplate and braced at its lower end by a bifurcated bent bracket r, whose bifurcated eX- tremities are secured in place to the hounds by the two front bolts f, which secure the part m on said hounds. To this bolt the whiletrees are pivoted. The rivets or bolts f, which secure together the members of the splinter-bar, carry pairs of lugs or projections s, the members of each pair of said lugs or projections being connected by a bolt t, to which the forward ends of the side springs of a foreand-aft spring construction are adapted to be connected.

As best seen in Figs. ltand 5, the side walls, as Well as the base-walls, of the channel-irons are extended to embrace the splinter-bar, the upper one u being bent .over and following the cross-sectional contour of the part t of the splinter-bar and the under one o being bent under the bar h of saidsplinter-bar, said two extremities being secured together and to the splinter-bar by means of the two adjacent bolts or rivets f, which bind the parts of said splinter-bar toget-hel.

It will be seen that the qualities of strength and the part of the splinter-bar. These qualities are also derived to a not inconsiderable extent from the fact that the particular form of recessed bars employed for the f utchells and hounds is channel-iron, by virtue of Which, since the securing bolts or rivets pass through the side or spaced walls of these parts, their inherent elasticity is brought into play when the parts are assembled to thereafter constantly resist the binding'action of said bolts or rivets, and thereby keep the whole structure tuned up to a state of permanent and perfect stability. They are derived, too, from the peculiar arrangement of the parts of the splinter-bar relatively to each other and to the other parts of the cradle, and particularly as this exists in the eonstmction which Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- Y A platform-gearing or cradle consistingr substantially of a series of parallel bars, the outer bars constituting the futchells and the intermediate bars constituting the hounds and projecting at one end of the structure beyond the ends of the hounds, a cross-bar or crossbars and a splinter-bar connecting said bars, said splinter-bar comprising two members the one of which is disposed beneath, and the other of which is arched over, the projecting ends of the hounds, said hound and futchell bars being composed of metal and being 1ongitudina'lly channeled, an integral arm and projections formed at the end of each futchell adjoining the splinter-bar, and means for securing said cross-bar or crossbars to said hound and futchell bars, and for securing together the ends of said members of the splinter-bar and said splinter-bar and the arms and projections, said projections receiving the splinter-bar between them, substantially as describedI In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 17th day of February, 1900.

CHRISTIAN ARNOLD.

Witnesses:

JOHN W. STEWARD, JAMESr B. NEWTON. 

